Test Cricket India Vs Australia: Four Australian Players Axed!

After playing some of their worst cricket in recent times and trailing India 0-2 in the current Test Series hosted by India for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2013 Australia seems headed for more serious trouble. As the third cricket Test, a must win for Australia, begins in Mohali from 14^th of March four players of the Australian team including two key playing ones Shane Watson and James Pattinson were axed by Team Management. Earlier, dashing Indian opener Virender Sehwag had been dropped from Team India for the last two Tests and this piece of act had been generating a lot of politicking over the past few days. However, in the Australian case it is not politics, but protocol that means the four axed cricketers did not complete their homework as desired under rules. 

Why politics in the Virender Sehwag case? He has been a non-performer for at least the last five Tests and scored his last century two years ago. His steadier partner Gautam Gambhir was dropped at the beginning of the India Vs Australia Test Series. In the first two tests against Australia that India won convincingly Sehwag contributed just 27 runs in three innings. But…yes... there is a ‘but’.

First, Sehwag had been dropped for the ODI Series against England recently which in a way means he had been recalled for the first two Tests against Australia. If you recall a former great you normally give him enough time for a glorious comeback. Second, India won the both the Tests so far and you normally do not disturb a winning combination. Third, Harbhajan Singh had also been recalled and despite similar non-performance he is still retained. This means Sehwag is the lone player to be axed. Fourth, cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar and skipper MS Dhoni himself sailed through without being axed after consistent non-performance. And not the least, Sehwag got dropped from the ODI team on earlier occasions too largely due to his growing differences with Dhoni. When the whole team gets demoralized for all alleged reasons and fails totally you cannot pick and axe individual players. Naturally then, politicking rages when you drop a veteran from a winning team coming good at last.

For the Australian players it is strictly ‘punishment’ and it is unprecedented in Australian cricket. They did not comply with the team orders that asked all team members to make a fact finding report on the team’s disastrous performance and suggestions for possible improvement. There are more disturbing reports that Australian Vice-Captain Shane Watson had already left for home after being axed which is of coursed denied by Cricket Australia. With Kangaroo keeper Matthew Wade also injured the Australian team practically gets reduced to 11 to choose 11 from. Brad Haddin is reportedly being called in to replace Wade. The axed players will be allowed to play in the last Test, but that could very well be after losing the Test Series.

The contrasts of politics and protocol make the Mohali prospect a markedly attractive one. As some solace for the troubled Australians the ground staff of Mohali had reportedly stated that the pitch there would retain its greenness promising a lot of pace and bounce.

Humor: Mumbai Retail Of The Sleepy Kind!

What happened was unbelievable for me—living in Mumbai for years. A sense of business or a drive for business is always palpable almost everywhere in this mega city that never goes to sleep—from the slum hutments to the luxurious high-rise enclaves. One has to be business minded here not only to survive, but also to earn the extra bucks to survive better or to amass millions to figure among the dirty rich. The business atmosphere is so friendly that at your local market you can shop even without having money in the pocket. The seller or vendor just fills your bag with the stock response ‘You won’t run away, would you!’ Therefore, what happened was just beyond me.

Today being Maha Shivratri apart from being a Sunday too, my wife had a sudden requirement for few things around 4.30 pm. I decided to visit the nearby society grocery store to save time. The residential credit society had a tough time finding a suitable business partner to run the store for them, and finally they found a business family who agreed to the terms and conditions. The society also agreed allowing them to live, eat and sleep in the store apart from doing business. Such an arrangement proved to be beneficial to the residents as the store remained open for long hours.

I found a kid guarding the shop and when I asked him to weigh the required things displayed outside he only smiled—maybe with a sense of helplessness, but I was sure about some amount of mischief too in that smile. I gathered that the elders were sleeping and the kid was not authorized to sell. As I tried to enter the store I found one of the elders sprawled up in the main doorway sleeping blissfully. Refusing to accept the situation I hollered over him to accomplish my ‘business’. He squeezed open his eyes and muttered without getting up, ‘All are sleeping, no business now please!’

‘Then why don’t you down your shutters?’ I demanded.

He ignored his ‘customer’ and just rolled over on his sides enjoying the bliss. I seethed out ‘Sweet dreams!’ and walked all the way to the main market area.

Humor Or Not: Exams, Students And Questions!

In a school certificate examination in a certain language in a certain place in Maharashtra something very unusual happened. The exam hall was filled with bright and expectant students waiting in suspense for the question papers to be distributed. When the suspense ended and they had their papers in hand they hardly expected what they encountered.

Thee was a question that left them all shell shocked. Some of them got emotional, some of them broke down and some of them protested vehemently. Even most of the teachers on duty became very angry and supported the students. The exam schedule got disturbed and absolute confusion prevailed. Finally the authorities canceled the question papers on that particular subject and gave assurances for rescheduling. The authorities also promised to take stern action against the setters of that question paper.

The question was ‘how would you write a letter to your younger brother on your father’s sudden death’. They came prepared for the exams, but definitely not for this.

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On the lighter side one student in a particular exam in a particular place somewhere in India found one particular question very intriguing and perplexing. Like all students of today he was also more familiar with the modern times and modern things like iPods, iPhones and laptops, and not of the ancient times. But he was smart enough to put in a very short and precise answer after pondering over it for a while.

The question was ‘Why did Lord Ram banish his dear wife Sita to the forests’.

(Ref.Epic Ramayana)

The one-line answer was ‘He must have had some solid good reasons to do so’.